Thanksgiving Turkey (PRON)

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energyzer

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This was some of the best Turkey I've had. The only problem was the skin. I smoked between 325 and 350, but the skin was chewy. I pulled it off, and the meat was great. I did notice that the breast didn't take on as much smoke as the legs did. Why would that be?
 
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Looks great. When cooking at higher temps your meat will go through the temp range where it will absorb the smoke faster so it will not get as much smoke. The breast was probably done before the legs and thighs.
 
Yeah, that looks good. Did you ice the breast? It helps the breast and dark meat get done closer to the same time.
 
That looks great, I'll bet it was delicious!
Skin is almost always the problem with smoked turkey. It just won't crisp up at those temperatures and it's kind of thick to achieve a bite through consistency. I think next time I'll break it down, then smoke it, then deep fry it. Get the best of both worlds, smokey flavor and crispy skin.
 
Pyle's BBQ said:
Looks great. When cooking at higher temps your meat will go through the temp range where it will absorb the smoke faster so it will not get as much smoke. The breast was probably done before the legs and thighs.
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Actually, they were done at the same time. I had the probe in the breast, which was in the center of the drum, and had the legs at the edges of the drum, where it was hotter. I took the breast up to 160. When I tested the legs at that point, they were at 175. Took it all off at the same time.
 
bigabyte said:
Looks good!:cool: Tell us more about how you cooked it.
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I guess the only other worthy comments about it is that I used PatioDiddio's turkey brine on it, then brushed it with EVOO, and then rubbed it with Yardbird both under the skin (breast) and on top of the skin. The legs were crazy good, Breast was ok. The whole thing was very juicy.
 
After you brined it, did you let it rest and air dry in the fridge? That helps to let the skin and outer meat (which is thoroughly soaked after brining) to allow the moisture to redistribute throughout the bird, and the air drying in the fridge helps to dry the skin out a bit. Without this, the skin can really be too moist to get it anywhere near crispy.
 
bigabyte said:
After you brined it, did you let it rest and air dry in the fridge? That helps to let the skin and outer meat (which is thoroughly soaked after brining) to allow the moisture to redistribute throughout the bird, and the air drying in the fridge helps to dry the skin out a bit. Without this, the skin can really be too moist to get it anywhere near crispy.
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That would be what I didn't do. :doh: I'll have to do that the next time. Thanks for the tip.
 
I picked up a fresh turkey the other day at half price, BONUS! I just took it out of the brine, and I am air drying it in the fridge now. Later this afternoon, it's going in the BGE. This will be my first smoked turkey on the egg, so I'm really glad I read this thread. Report card at 11:00 :heh:
 
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